Santa Cruz police: Teen arrested in Monday’s fatal shooting

A 16-year-old boy is being held in Juvenile Hall in connection with the fatal shooting of a Watsonville boy, Santa Cruz police said Tuesday.

Police responded just before 7 p.m. Monday for reports of a shooting victim inside a Santa Cruz apartment located across the street from the Santa Cruz Police Department.

A 15-year-old Watsonville boy had suffered a fatal gunshot wound, and police questioned several people who were inside the home at the time. The victim, who’s name hasn’t been officially released, didn’t live at the Center Street apartment and was just visiting, Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark said.

The teenage suspect from Santa Cruz has been booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, Clark said. His name has not been released.

Clark said the suspect is a gang member, but that his gang affiliation wasn’t the motive for the shooting.

Detectives are still interviewing witnesses and gathering information in the case.

Officers recovered a gun believed to be the weapon used in the shooting Monday night. The recovered handgun had been reported to police as stolen in May.

California law defines involuntary manslaughter as a killing that occurs in the commission of an unlawful act, or in the commission of a lawful act that could produce death, in an lawful matter. In other words, it’s a killing that isn’t intentional but isn’t entirely accidental.